With regard to the specifications of the Makita XRU07Z trimmer, perhaps it is a good idea to start with the general product weight. At 11.9 pounds this unit is not especially lightweight, but at the same time it certainly does not feel excessively heavy or cumbersome during use. Actually, it feels like it has the perfect amount of weight to avoid feeling flimsy and cheap. At a voltage rating of 36 volts, this is a lawn trimmer which definitely has enough power to muscle through even thick, dense grasses and leafy plants with relative ease.
Batteries
The batteries which are compatible with this trimmer are Lithium ion batteries, and Makita generally recommends that users of this trimmer have two batteries on hand because two charged batteries is roughly equivalent to one hour of continuous use with this trimmer
Ease of Assembly
Assembling the Makita XRU07Z trimmer was not terribly difficult to accomplish, though I will admit that the owner’s manual was definitely lacking in terms of being able to provide clear assembly instructions. The only difficulty I seemed to encounter while assembling this unit was the alignment of multiple small parts which were not clearly marked in the directions. After a short time I figured out how to correctly align the parts, and everything functioned just as it was supposed to with no further issues or complications.
Type of Cutting Head
Featuring an outer-rotor, brush-less motor drive system, it is easy to get a high degree of power and motor output from this trimmer by Makita. There is a direct drive motor integrated into the design of this trimmer, and it mounts directly onto the trimmer head to increase overall tool balance and work efficiency. I have found that this cutting head design is sufficient for any lawn and garden projects I throw at it.
Automatic Feed Design
Instead of an annoying bump feed design, which always seems to over-extend new output of trimming wire, this system offers an automatic feed design. I tend to like that much better than old bump feed models I have had, which always seemed to annoy me because of how they would always over extend the spooling every time I bumped the head of the trimmer.
Weight Distribution and Balance
Overall I would say that the Makita XRU07Z trimmer is built with better than average weight balancing, although I will admit that most of the product’s weight is focused in the top handle and the bottom motor/trimmer assembly. The shaft connecting the two ends of this trimmer is extremely lightweight, so the operator tends to only feel the weight on each respective end which is not a problem at all. Even though I enjoy the balance on this trimmer, I like things a bit heavier so perhaps I would have added a couple pounds toward strengthening the shaft on this trimmer if I was the one designing it.
Battery Life
I was not extremely impressed by the battery life with this Makita trimmer, but then again, the battery life is fairly standard for this type of electric trimmer unit. The batteries which are compatible with this trimmer are 18V LXT 5.0Ah BL 1850 batteries, and while using two of these I can generally get about one hour of continuous work out of this trimmer. Although the use duration might have been a bit more attractive with my old gas trimmer, nothing compared to how clean, quiet, and smoothly my new electric Makita XRU07Z trimmer runs.
Overall Strength and Durability of Product
At first I was a little bit skeptical of the durability of this trimmer after I had initially assembled it, but it only took a couple uses to figure out that I was dealing with a well-balanced, high quality electric trimmer. I never felt that I had purchased a bad trimmer, but I have to admit it seemed a little flimsy at first. That assumption has been proven wrong quite clearly by now, and I am now of the opinion that this Makita trimmer is a strong, durable, and reliable lawn and garden maintenance product.